Product details

soarwas written in response to a long-held desire to write a
work that would capitalise on Christian Wojtowicz's cello sound,
style and technique. Most of all I sought to write for his
ability to translucently and constantly evolve new and unique
colourations and inflections of expressive, carefully moulded
musical line.

With this as a background, I set out to write a
cello and piano work that I could not help thinking of as a short
score for a cello concerto. This led to thinking of the work as a
deeply hybridised, even consciously contradictory amalgam of
sources: chamber music for cello and piano, yet big and dramatic
music suited to a concerto; a chromatic, 'roving' harmonic
structure that is yet rooted in firm centres around E; a thorny,
expressive language that is florid and exhibitionistic yet one
that is also lyrical, passionate and intimately, inwardly
emotional.

From this powerful set of contradictory impulses
the work took shape. Over the initial few measures the piano
unfolds a bass line that captures the harmonic 'contradictions'
of the work: a firm centre of E, extended and elaborated through
progression to the minor third above via progressive chromatic
unfolding. Insistent accented sixths articulate implicit rhythms
that are overtly taken up as the work unfolds. The cello enters
boldly and dramatically: unfolding triplet sixteenths that form
an important basis for the fast sections of the work. These three
fast sections are separated by two slow, expressive and exposed
sections of related thematic character thus forming the loosely
knit five-part 'rondo' type structure of the work.

The style of argument used in elaborating
materials in soar is very distinctly similar
to that of all of my recent works: a reliance on traditional
motivic and thematic development of ideas, balanced with an
approach to repetition of ideas that allows the musician and
audience to re-engage with the traditionally formative elements
of music.

But beyond all of this, soar
is about the human spirit and our lifelong dance with life's
challenges and even demons. From its searching and worried
opening measures to the bright climactic final moments of the
piece the work seems to constantly betray its concerto-like drama
of contrasts. The work seeks to capture some of the breath and
texture of life: struggle and triumph, defeat and redemption,
nobility and loss.

Published by: Australian Music Centre — 1 set of 22 performance parts (70p. -- B4 (portrait))